What Are the Ingredients for the Best Form of the Best Possible Self (BPS) Intervention? (BestBPS)

What Are the Ingredients for the Best Form of the Best Possible Self (BPS) Intervention? Combining the BPS Intervention With Mindfulness

This study aims to determine the relevant 'ingredients' to make the best possible self (BPS) intervention most efficacious and test whether the BPS's efficacy can be enhanced by including mindfulness aspects.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy Participants
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Thinking, writing and imagination

Detailed Description

The best possible self (BPS) intervention is a brief positive psychology intervention to increase a person's positive affect and optimism. The BPS has been used in different forms (writing vs. imagining/visualizing vs. writing + imagining/visualizing the best possible self). However, it remains unclear which 'ingredients' are necessary to let the BPS unfold its effects. This online study aims to determine the relevant 'ingredients' to make the best possible self (BPS) intervention most efficacious. Since mindfulness interventions have recently indicated promising effects on positive and negative affect, another goal of this study is to test whether the BPS's efficacy can be enhanced by including aspects of mindfulness.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 181
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Marburg, Germany, 35032
    • Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• fluent in the German language
• access to a computer/tablet/smartphone with audio output/headphones

Exclusion Criteria:

• not willing to take part in an online-intervention (duration: 60 minutes)
• no access to a computer/tablet/smartphone with audio output/headphones

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

5

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Best Possible Self (writing only); Participants are asked to think and write about their best possible future self (15 min).	Behavioral: Thinking, writing and imagination; All participants are asked to take some time to think and write about the respective intervention group's content. In some groups (after the writing exercise (approx. 15min)), participants are also asked to imagine that content or engage in a mindfulness activity or recall task for about 5 minutes.
Experimental: Best Possible Self (writing+imagining); Participants are asked to think and write about their best possible future self (15 min) and, then to imagine their positive future (5 min).	Behavioral: Thinking, writing and imagination; All participants are asked to take some time to think and write about the respective intervention group's content. In some groups (after the writing exercise (approx. 15min)), participants are also asked to imagine that content or engage in a mindfulness activity or recall task for about 5 minutes.
Experimental: Best Possible Self (writing+mindfulness); Participants are asked to think and write about their best possible future self (15 min) and subsequently engage in a brief mindfulness sequence (5 min).	Behavioral: Thinking, writing and imagination; All participants are asked to take some time to think and write about the respective intervention group's content. In some groups (after the writing exercise (approx. 15min)), participants are also asked to imagine that content or engage in a mindfulness activity or recall task for about 5 minutes.
Experimental: Best Possible Self (writing+recall); Participants are asked to think and write about their best possible future self (15 min) and subsequently engage in a brief recall imagination task about the past two days (5 min).	Behavioral: Thinking, writing and imagination; All participants are asked to take some time to think and write about the respective intervention group's content. In some groups (after the writing exercise (approx. 15min)), participants are also asked to imagine that content or engage in a mindfulness activity or recall task for about 5 minutes.
Active Comparator: Writing about the past; Participants are asked to think and write about activities of the past two days (15 min).	Behavioral: Thinking, writing and imagination; All participants are asked to take some time to think and write about the respective intervention group's content. In some groups (after the writing exercise (approx. 15min)), participants are also asked to imagine that content or engage in a mindfulness activity or recall task for about 5 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in emotions (PANAS)	Change scores are calculated for positive and negative sum scores (post- minus pre-scores; pre-scores will be used as a covariate).	Change from pre (baseline) to post scores (approx. 30 minutes later)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in state optimism ratings	State Optimism measure (SOM), 7 items (each item 1(strongly disagree)-5(strongly agree)). Change scores are calculated for positive and negative sum scores (post- minus pre-scores; pre-scores will be used as a covariate).	Change from pre (baseline) to post scores (approx. 30 minutes later)
Change in emotional responses to imagery of neutral, pleasant and aversive narrative scripts	Nine narrative imagery scripts are used. Scenes included three neutral, standard social threat and positive/reward events. All scripts were developed according to the recommendations of Lang (1979). Participants are asked to rate the vividness of imagery (1= not vivid at all, 9= very vivid), the wish to avoid imagery (1 = no wish to avoid , 9 = strong wish to avoid imagery), their experienced anxiety (1= no anxiety, 9=very strong anxiety), displeasure (1 = pleasant, 9 = unpleasant), and emotional arousal (1 = relaxed, 9 = aroused) during imagery on a 9-point rating scale. Emotional responses are averaged per category.	Change from pre (baseline) to post scores (approx. 30 minutes later)]

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Philipps University Marburg Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Winfried Rief, Prof., Philipps University Marburg Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Millstein RA, Chung WJ, Hoeppner BB, Boehm JK, Legler SR, Mastromauro CA, Huffman JC. Development of the State Optimism Measure. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2019 May-Jun;58:83-93. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.04.002. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 27, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): March 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 9, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 15, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 7, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 6, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: BestBPS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: Individual patient data will be shared with researchers providing a relevant and methodologically sound proposal

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No